Story #222 - The God Complex (2011)

Harry -

This one felt like a story of two halves. There was the half I liked, and the half I didn't like.

Great opening set up with a nod to The Shining. The pre-credits sequence shows a disoriented police constable wandering the corridors of a horror hotel. The TARDIS arrives and the team encounter a group of people on edge. Are they victims, prisoners, bait? An array of photos on the walls suggests that the place is a trap. It's a puzzling and disorienting place, the atmosphere heightened by some fantastic camera work, plenty of jarring angles and anxious close ups.

Sarah -

I had completely forgotten this story, so it felt brand new. Every room contains the biggest fear of someone at the hotel, with a minotaur feeding off their faith. The most concerning room was Amy’s, which was not the Weeping Angel, but that she was waiting for the Doctor at the door of her childhood home. Amy had so much faith in the Doctor that he had to break her down to save her. Meanwhile, Rory all his faith in the Doctor and wanted to go home.

Harry -

Oh the obligatory (and foreshadowy) Weeping Angel.

We might as well pivot to the half of the story that I didn't like. That was the minotaur. After being menaced for a few scenes, the group face the big hairy thing, a cousin of the Nimon as pointed out by the Doctor. For a creature that feeds off its victims' faith, I would expect something less earthy and more elevated. A creature of light and spirit. Something shimmery, floating in the air. The minotaur looks like it would prefer to eat people's flesh. So the divergence of the creature from its modus operandi didn't work for me.

Sarah - 

As irritating as the minotaur was, Rita was brilliant! She would be a great companion, until she started saying, “Praise Him.” I quite liked her.

Harry - 

We have also seen previous instances of the Doctor forcing a friend to lose their faith in him - Sarah Jane and Ace come to mind. Seeing it happen to Amy was not all that unique.

I did love the horror hotel though, right down to the ugly carpeting. It was a great set up, but the payoff was disappointing.

David Walliams' Gibbis was an amusing addition to the aliens of the Whoniverse. Meek on the outside, conniving on the inside.

Sarah - 

Walliams irritates me, even when he is in costume.

Harry - 

At the end, the Doctor bids an emotional goodbye to Amy. For the air of permanence they gave this scene, we know it's not really goodbye. Just another weak note to the episode overall.

Sarah -

Watching "The God Complex" the first time, we thought we were saying goodbye forever…but I’m glad we have a little more time. 

Harry -

Best Line:

The Doctor: "This is a cup of tea."

Rita: "Of course, I'm British, it's how we cope with trauma. That and tutting."

Favourite Moment: entering the room with the creepy ventriloquist dummies, an all-too-brief moment

Lasting Image: the portraits on the hotel walls

5/10

Sarah - 

Best Line: 

RITA: Why is it up to you to save us? That's quite a God complex you have there.

Favorite Moment: The final moment when Amy telling Rory the Doctor saved them

Lasting Image: Amy at the door

7/10

Our marathon continues with Story # 223: Closing Time...

Story #221 - The Girl Who Waited (2011)

 Harry -

Well, my gut has been duly wrenched. What about you, old girl?

Sarah -

I didn't remember all the details of this episode, but I definitely remembered the trauma. Amy and Rory have been through so much.

Harry -

Writer Tom MacRae is not a familiar name so I looked him up. His only other work for Doctor Who was the Tennant story "Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel". So he's written one blockbuster-type story, and this one which was simple on the surface but packed an emotional wallop.

Sarah - 

Here we are in the Doctor-light episode, but he’s still making the decisions. The TARDIS Team arrives at Apalapucia, a holiday destination and Amy goes back to get her mobile phone. The Doctor and Rory press the green button and when Amy comes back, she presses the red button, landing them in different rooms and different timelines. When the TARDIS lands in Amy’s time stream, Rory is attacked by a warrior – who is Amy 36 years later. 

Harry - 

I'm usually not big on stories where one of the characters ages dramatically. In this case the aging process was natural. Karen Gillan was incredible playing a lonely, embittered Amy who was left to fend for herself for 36 years.

Sarah -

Being embittered seems entirely reasonable after being abandoned by the people she most trusted. If I remember correctly, this is when their trust in the Doctor starts to break down. It’s easy to understand why she hates the Doctor.

Rory is thrown off by this older version of Amy, but he knows it’s Amy and he still loves her. The Doctor lies to Rory, telling him that both Amys can be safe in the TARDIS, but the Doctor has no plan to let the older Amy inside – Blinovitch Limitation Effect, or whatever. The Doctor seems repulsed by the older Amy and makes the decision that everyone has to live with. Amy won’t remember this, but Rory will. 

Harry - 

The facility was a creepy place, all wide concourses and sudden gardens with "robots of death" chasing Amy around.  As Rory asked: "Where is everyone?"  Other than the brief appearance of an onscreen interface, the TARDIS team were the only human characters in the entire story.

Last season we had "Amy's Choice" and here we had Rory's choice.  His dilemma at the end was horrible, and the Doctor forced the decision in the end.  They would have had to spend a long time processing and recovering from this experience.  Like I said at the start, this was a gut-wrencher.

Sarah - 

Best Line: "I love you, too. Don't let me in. Tell Amy, your Amy, I'm giving her the days. The days with you. The days to come."

Favorite Moment: When Amy remembers how much Rory loved her.

Lasting Image: “Old” Amy and Rory on opposite sides of the TARDIS door. 

7/10

Harry -

Best Line: "I'm gonna pull time apart for you."

Favourite Moment: the TARDIS team's initial explorations, because it all went downhill from there.

Lasting Image: warrior Amy kicking robot ass.

7/10

Our marathon continues with Story #222: The God Complex...

Story #220 - Night Terrors (2011)

Harry -

Here's the Series 6 edition of a Mark Gatiss journey into terror. And it happens at night so the title is perfect.

Sarah - 

I was looking back on Gatiss’ stories and it hit me that his stories tend to stand alone. That’s probably a bonus for the showrunner when working on the series arc. Also, I think this may be his first episode that isn’t set in the past.  

Harry - 

Apart from the alien twist, this was a pretty straightforward creeper. The cupboard in a child's bedroom is the focal point, which as the Doctor acknowledged is often a source of terror. It was mildly disappointing that Moff didn't have a hairdryer or carton of milk become the horrific thing. A cupboard is almost blasé.

Sarah - 

The Hairdryer of Fear is a catchy title. "Night Terrors" is a very middling episode, so much so that I couldn't remember anything about the story until the creepy dolls turned up. Sending the surrounding humans to the dollhouse was an effective horror location. Everyone is sent there in a horrifying way – an elevator, the living room carpet, and the garbage bins – which makes it more interesting when we don’t know what to expect. 

Harry -

Elevator, carpet and garbage bins: there was a Moffaty horror twist on the ordinary after all.

Sarah -

Children actors often get slagged by Doctor Who fans but I think Jamie Oram’s performance as George was strong. I love the Doctor making a house call to save and play with George. There isn’t really a villain in the story and everyone lives in the end so that’s good. 

Harry -

Jamie Oram was so restrained, his face telling the story, a great performance.  

Sarah -

The Doctor helps Alex understand why his son isn’t like other children, but the story turns way too sappy at the end. So many of Gatiss’ stories are about father’s and sons and they can end up feeling so cliche. In the end, Alex learns to love his alien son, mum comes home from work and everyone lives happily ever after, I guess. 

Harry -

Someone will eventually write a study of how the making of Doctor Who was therapeutic for many of the people involved with the show.

As a standalone tale, "Night Terrors" was a decent diversion from the season arc.  It feels like the Ponds got very few standalones, maybe I'll do up a tally after their final episode.  Anyway let's wade back into the arc!

Sarah -

Best Line: 

"Planets and history and stuff. That's what we do. But not today. No. Today, we're answering a cry for help from the scariest place in the universe. A child's bedroom."

Favorite Moment: 

The Doctor and George playing with toys

Lasting Image: 

The creepy dolls

5/10

Harry -

Best Line:

DOCTOR: Haven't done this in a while.

AMY: Haven't done what? What are you doing?

DOCTOR: Making a house call.

Favourite Moment: 

I loved the shot when the TARDIS materialized and was reflected in a puddle.

Lasting Image:

Amy converted into a creepy doll.

6/10

Our marathon continues with Story #221: The Girl Who Waited...

Story #219 - Let's Kill Hitler (2011)

Harry -

They didn’t even kill Hitler! Classic Moffat misdirection in order to tell a completely different story.

Sarah -

Remember how mad everyone was and then he ended up in the closet for most of the story. That said, it didn’t have to be Hitler in a story that is about the complicated relationships between the four characters. Amy, Rory, and River/Melody/Mels are the center of the story.

Harry -

Seriously it could have been anyone, anywhere. The nanotech-employing, justice-deploying force known as the Teselecta could have been after any other criminal in history.

Sarah -

We meet Mels for the first time when they’re teenagers and Mels gets Amy to realize that Rory loves her. And then they name their baby after the person who brought them together. Timey wimey, indeed.

Harry -

The timey-wimey reveal about Mels was mind-blowing. For all the shocks and revelations the Ponds have had to endure throughout their lives, they took it in stride. By now they know to expect the unexpected. River arrives in a burst of fun and immediately sets out to kill the Doctor, as she was programmed to do.

Sarah - 

And we think our families are difficult! At least they’re all on the same timeline. 

Harry - 

This episode really flew by, it almost felt like one of the Moffat era's mini-episodes. It made me wonder if we really needed a season-long arc to describe River's origin story. So much time went into the mysteries and the reveals. This season has always been my least-favourite and this is part of the reason why. 

Sarah - 

As much as I love River and Alex Kingston, the arc does go on a bit. Watching the series the first time, I recall being confused every week, forgetting what was going on in the previous episode. Rewatching this time, it all makes more sense, but it’s still the most Moffaty series of Moffat’s series. 

Harry - 

Agreed, it makes much more sense on a rewatch, even with longer gaps between our viewing of episodes.  

The new era of Doctor Who delves so deeply into the lives of the Doctor's companions like the classic series never did. I still prefer a series of bouncy stand alone stories over a season-long arc that needs to be watched all the way through to be appreciated.

Sarah - 

One of my favorite things about contemporary Doctor Who is that it does delve into the lives of the companions and how traveling with the Doctor impacts them. 

Harry - 

By the end of this breezy piece, Hitler's in the closet, the Ponds have met their now-grown-adult daughter who regenerated from their childhood friend, the Doctor has been saved from the assassination plot when River herself sacrificed her regenerative energy to revive him. It's as Moffaty a story as they come.

Sarah - 

‘Tis. Ready for some Night Terrors?

Harry -

Let's do it!

Sarah -

Best Line: "Well, I was on my way to this gay Gypsy Bar-Mitzvah for the disabled, when I thought gosh, the Third Reich's a bit rubbish. I think I'll kill the Fuhrer. Who's with me?"

Favorite Moment: The Doctor asking if there’s someone left in the universe he hasn't screwed up yet.

Lasting Image: River on the motorcycle.

5/10

Harry - 

Best Line:

RORY: Doctor, River was brainwashed to kill you, right?

DOCTOR: Well, she did kill me, and then she used her remaining lives to bring me back. As first dates go, I'd say that was mixed signals.

Favourite Moment: Alex Kingston's newly-regenerated self checking herself out.

Lasting Image: Hitler placed in the closet.

5/10

Our marathon continues with Story #220: Night Terrors...

Story #218 - A Good Man Goes to War (2011)

Harry -

There's a line in this story that captures how I feel about this particular episode, and some of the New Who era in general. It's when River Song describes the Doctor's actions at the battle of Demon's Run:

"He'll rise higher than ever before and then fall so much further."

First, the rising part. "A Good Man Goes to War" is Doctor Who if it was done as a Star Wars space opera. It is massive. The huge cast features multiple heroes, villains, a space militia, a mysterious dark order and a colourful assortment of aliens and robots. There are explosions in space. There is a battle in a Star Warsy hangar. Betrayals, revenge, loss and hope. At the centre of it all is the Doctor, who is so powerful that the mention of his name sends enemies to flight.

To me, this story is Doctor Who fallen so far from what it should be.

In a way, I get it. When Star Wars first appeared on the scene with its big budget effects, casting, music and universe-building, Doctor Who suddenly looked like a shabby small screen cousin. I wonder if part of the new era's aggrandization of the Doctor and his aura is a reflection of the first two showrunners wanting to show that, yes, Doctor Who can be just as big and overwhelmingly Hollywood as any movie franchise.

I'm sure a lot of people liked this story and this direction for the show, but I didn't. I prefer the wandering madman in a box, exploring the universe and righting wrongs on a smaller scale, with one or two companions along for the adventure. Doctor Who as overblown space opera doesn't turn my crank.

Sarah - 

I’m with you Harry. I was looking forward to rewatching "A Good Man Goes to War" for the first time since it aired in 2011. I remembered it being a very busy story that wasn’t very satisfying for me. The big reveal that River is Melody Pond wasn’t much of a surprise by the time it happened. 

This episode is too much like the Doctor as a Jesus figure in the Tennant Era. All three showrunners have dabbled with the Doctor being the most important person in the universe. It’s just not interesting. 

Harry -

It's not interesting no matter which showrunner wants it to be.

Sarah -

I don’t have much else to say. Let’s go kill Hitler, or whatever.

Harry -

I'm of the let's-get-it-over-with mind there.

Sarah - 

Best Line: “He's the last of his kind. He looks young, but he's lived for hundreds and hundreds of years. And wherever they take you, Melody, however scared you are, I promise you, you will never be alone. Because this man is your father.”

Favorite Moment: Amy and Rory discussing Melody’s naming.

Lasting Image: The Doctor bringing the wooden cot from the TARDIS.

5/10

Harry -

Best Line: "I speak baby."

Favourite Moment: the Doctor's silly reaction to River's reveal.

Lasting Image: the hangar battle.

2/10

Our marathon continues with Story #219: Let's Kill Hitler...

Story #217 - The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People (2011)

Harry -

I had forgotten most of this story, other than the part about rebel flesh becoming almost people.

As we enter the middle section of this season, we get a big dose of Moffat’s story arc, but not as much as we probably realized on first viewing.

Sarah -

It's a whole different experience this time around. I remember being often confused when series six debuted. What I remember most about this story is how creeped out I was by the gangers.

Harry -

The gangers are particularly creepy whenever we see them midway through their formation into human copies. Those warped porcelain faces are unforgettable.

Right off the bat this story had a strong Pertwee-era vibe. The Doctor arrives at a remote facility where some dodgy environmental activity is going on, in this case involving lots of acid. The low morals of the place are immediately on display as we see its workforce seemingly put less value into a co-worker's life than into preserving his acid suit. Mac Hulke would have been raging at this corporation.

Sarah - 

You could totally drop Pertwee’s Doctor and Jo right into this story, which would have to be written by Hulke. Some things never change when it comes to screwing the workers.

Harry - 

It doesn't take long for the TARDIS team to discover what the gangers are. And the moral dilemmas continue. Are the gangers real lifeforms? Do they deserve to live as long as the humans they are based on? Before everyone can work out the ethics of these questions, the gangers run amok, and things get confusing.

The confusion reigns as we lose track of some characters. Well, I did anyway.  Is this one human or ganger? Has Rory come to the aid of Jennifer, or is it ganger Jennifer? And which Doctor is the real one? Lots of material for a merry chase around the medieval castle (which was a nice touch for an out-of-the-way facility instead of a sterile lab closed to outside observation).

Despite the story opening with the Doctor puzzling over Amy's yes/no pregnancy, she seemed to be once again shunted aside from the main action. She did get another moment of being startled by the woman who keeps peeking at her through walls. Amy's big moment was saved for the bizarre reveal at the end.

Sarah - 

The more I think about this story, the less I like it. The whole point of the gangers is to get to Amy’s reveal – and it’s a big one! The story might have been stronger and more interesting as one episode. The gangers are only there to support the Amy storyline. If a company is doing work this dangerous, why not build robots and avoid the existential crisis? And what’s with Rory taking the side of the gangers over the Doctor and Amy? And where’s the real Amy?

Harry -

I have more questions now than before!  This was very much the vibe I felt through most of this season.

Sarah - 

Best Line: 

Amy: Doctor, I am frightened. I’m properly, properly scared.

The Doctor: Don’t be, hold on. We’re coming for you, I swear that whatever happens, however hard, however far, we will find you.

Amy: I’m right here.

The Doctor: No you’re not. You haven’t been here for a long long time.

Amy: Oh no.

Favorite Moment: Jimmy being reunited with his son.

Lasting Image: The gangers in the goop.

4/10

Harry -

Best Line:

Doctor: I've to get to that cockerel before all hell breaks loose. [*smiles wistfully*] I never thought I'd have to say that again. 

Favourite Moment: the big twist at the end.

Lasting Image: the porcelain-faced gangers for sure.

5/10

Our marathon continues with Story # 218: A Good Man Goes to War...

Story #216 - The Doctor's Wife (2011)

Harry -

A pocket story in a pocket universe. Sort of. Think of soap bubbles or something. Anyway, the TARDIS takes a very long detour, so far away that even Moffat's season-long story arc is barely in view.

Sarah -

Who doesn’t love a pocket universe? They’re so cozy.

Harry -

I think this story was perfectly placed as a sidebar before we go back into the main season arc.

Sarah -

What I remember most about this story is how fandom lost its collective mind when it was announced that Neil Gaiman would be writing for Doctor Who.

Harry -

Surely I was among them. After seeing so many big name writers say "Oh I'd love to write for Doctor Who" over the years, here finally was a big name writer coming on board.

Sarah -

And then it lost its mind all over again when the title was announced, followed by the never-ending speculation of who would be The Doctor’s Wife. The TARDIS was almost a disappointment after all that.

While working on "The Caves of Androzani", John Nathan-Turner wrote the title “The Doctor’s Wife” on the white board in his office to identify the person who was leaking information to the media. It worked and he found the leak. I imagine Moffat had been waiting decades to use The Doctor’s Wife as a title!

Harry -

An amusing bit of history there.

Almost from the start there's some misdirection about who the titular wife might be. The Doctor receives a Gallifreyan distress cube in the middle of space from a previously unknown Time Lord called the Corsair. We learn that the Corsair is a friend of the Doctor's and has changed gender multiple times, a bit of foundation-laying for Michelle Gomez and Jodie Whittaker. Without further ado, the TARDIS heads outside the universe into all manner of strangeness and trouble.

Sarah -

Well played, Moff! I’d forgotten it was in this story.

Harry -

Turns out the Corsair was not the Doctor's wife, but the victim of a sentient asteroid that has been luring and killing dozens of Time Lords in this pocket universe, and devouring their TARDISes. Seeking to capture the Doctor's TARDIS, the asteroid (identified as House) drains out its matrix, leaving an empty shell ready to be occupied. The matrix meanwhile is dumped into the body of a human named Idris, one of a handful of scraggly people clinging to life on the asteroid. Perhaps these people were surviving companions of other Time Lords?

Sarah - 

That’s so sad and entirely possible. 

Harry -

Watching the story again, Idris' initial nonsensical dialogue made much more sense. "Thief, thief!" she shouts when spotting the Doctor. Over the years there has been the occasional gag about the Doctor and TARDIS sharing amorous communications between themselves but here they are finally both able to vocalize together at the same time. I particularly liked the line "You stole me, and I stole you."

Sarah - 

At least it was consensual and they’ve been committed for millennia. 

Harry - 

The story is very clever and spreads out nicely over 45 minutes. Did it strike you that Gaiman didn't give Amy and Rory much to do, other than being trapped inside the TARDIS for much of the story?

Sarah - 

Just another week of Amy and Rory being traumatized – again. 

Harry - 

Their lack of involvement really stood out here, until they were subjected to some horror story wandering in the TARDIS corridors.  It didn't seem to mesh with the rest of the story.  

One thing I remembered about this story was the colour palette. Grey, grey and more grey. It definitely contributed to the lifeless atmosphere on the asteroid.

Sarah -

Not a place you’d like to spend any more time than necessary. It’s a well-paced episode and I enjoyed it more than I expected. 

Harry -

The Doctor and the TARDIS throw together another console from junk parks, reclaim the TARDIS shell and expel House, problem resolved.

Later on, Gaiman said that he would have liked to write another story for the Capaldi era.  It never happened and who knows if he'll ever write for the show again.  As far as I know, there hasn't been much spinoff content regarding the Corsair.  Perhaps Gaiman is hanging on to that for future opportunities.

This was an interesting story.  Big on ideas, with a huge focus on the Doctor and TARDIS.  It was nice to hear the TARDIS' side of things for once.

Sarah - 

Best Line: 

AMY: She's the TARDIS?

DOCTOR: And she's a woman. She's a woman and she's the TARDIS.

AMY: Did you wish really hard?

Favorite Moment: Amy and Rory asking to get rid of the bunk beds.

Lasting Image: The spare-parts TARDIS

6/10

Harry -

Best Line:

DOCTOR: I don't know what to do.  That's a new feeling.

Favourite Moment: The Doctor and TARDIS saying hello.

Lasting Image: Idris

7/10

Our marathon continues with Story #217: The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People...